The present invention relates to a device for drying and fixing a toner image developed on a recording paper by liquid developer including toner particles therein.
In an electrophotographic apparatus adopting a wet developing system a recording or copying paper which has an electrophotographic latent image formed thereon is subjected to touch or contact with a liquid developer including toner particles therein, a toner image is formed on the recording paper by developing the latent image with the toner particles in the liquid developer, the thus formed toner image is fixed by heating and the recording paper with fixed toner image is finally dryed.
Such a drying and fixing device comprises a heat drum and feed rollers which consist of a heat resistance resin and are arranged in parallel with a certain distance, and these feed rollers are pressed to the heat drum by its own weight or a spring to dry and fix the recording paper during conveying it between the feed rollers and the heat drum. In this device, however, the image parts of the picture image formed on the recording paper which are not contacted to the feed rollers are not fixed to form an undersired white portion, or the background white parts of the recording paper which are contacted to the feed rollers are blackened to form roller tracks so that a good quality of copied image can not be obtained. For preventing such a defect means for floating the feed rollers on the heat drum has been provided. In this case the contact of the recording paper to the heat drum becomes worse so that the effect of drying and fixing the toner image is fallen and thus feeding of the recording paper can not be effected smoothly.